From: Rich Dodenhoff <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:40:58 +0000

Societies may outsource their journals for many reasons.  Some have
only one or two journals, and it isn't cost effective to self-publish.

There is also the often justified fear among society publishers with a
small number of journals that they are being squeezed out of the
market by large package deals from commercial publishers.  Titles from
small nonprofit publishers are often passed over, no matter how low
their price or how high their impact factors, because there isn't much
money left after a library purchases big deals. Nonprofit society
publishers may move to a commercial publisher because they feel that's
the only way their journals will survive.

Richard Dodenhoff
Journals Director
American Society for Pharmacology
& Experimental Therapeutics

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:46:49 -0500

It does seem odd that societies would outsource their journal
publishing to large commercial publishers because they can be assured
in advance (1) that the prices will go way up,  (2) fewer individuals
will be able to afford to subscribe to them, and (3) any profits made
will not redound to the benefit of academic research since they will
go to pay shareholders or be used to grow the size of the company
further so as to  increase its market share.  Why do scholars complain
about commercial journal practices and then turn around and allow
their societies to help those companies profit even further at the
expense of academe?

Sandy Thatcher